IN A NUTSHELL

When weeding one day, I came across this stalk which revealed its origin when pulled from the soil. A future walnut tree! If planted and nurtured, given a few years (or decades), I could have harvested a few buckets to crack, hull and stuff in a freezer bag for future cooking projects. (Sorry, tossed it in the garbage.) Later, however, I thought of how our super-charged world likes simple things: big concepts reduced to catch phrases. Big ideas to a nutshell.

The Gospel is like that, yet not like that. It's a big idea, condensed often to easy-to-recall verses like “God so loved the world that He gave....” (John 3:16). It's also like the potential of something really big and nurturing to the world—the transformation of a sin-preferring human being into a humble person loving God with everything he or she has within him or her. I think Peter suggests this in his second letter to churches:

But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. (2 Peter 3:18)

This stalwart statement came from a man of energy and convictions, his early character shaped in the turbulent and unpredictable waters of the Sea of Galilee. Sometimes fish filled his nets, sometimes not. Making a living was hard, then it got harder when a Teacher came to the shoreline and said, “Follow me.” Without a salary or a 401K or any of the financial tools we have today. Living.On.Faith.

The man who once wielded needles and twine to mend his fishing nets would find himself crafting words and admonitions to teach and encourage those drawn to the teachings of the Son of God. In becoming a “fisher of men,” he learned to pay attention to human character instead of the water and the weather.

I often return to the first chapter of 2 Peter and his description of growing godly character. One builds on another: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love. Such attributes of character are to grow “in increasing measure....[to] keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8).

In a nutshell, that's the Gospel. Let Jesus change you, and plant you, to change the world.